Members of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) held their last bi-annual stakeholder planning meeting for the year at Wuparo Conservancy in the Sangwali, Zambezi region. 

The meeting aimed at sharing successful initiatives and common challenges while helping conservancies and community-based organisations to adapt to more sustainable ways that promote conservation.

During the three days, George Kambonge, the fisheries coordinator at Simalaha Community Conservancy, highlighted the challenges they face.  

"The main challenges that we face there are to do with human-wildlife conflict. You know we are sharing these resources with different wild animals; they also have to thrive. Human beings also have to thrive, so this is a major challenge. 2. The declining levels of fish in the water body because of maybe some illegal methods of fishing as well as illegal fishing gear."

The Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust from Botswana, managed by five villages, is reported to have generated P20.3 million, equivalent to N$24.6 million, in 2025 through multiple income activities such as grind milling and brick moulding. 

"then we have Linyanti Photographic at Shaile, the other things where we get our moneys we have a grind mill in Parakarungu and we have some brick molding which is in Kavimba, Satau and Kachikau and we have a grind mill as well where we are doing foul feed, we do sorghum mill and the community as well comes and then can bring your bag of whether its maize or sorghum they crash and then you get your maize meal or sorghum from that, reiterated Member: of the  Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust, Thomas Matengu.   

The chairperson of the Zambezi Communal Conservancies and Community Forestry Association is Mwananawa Lubasi.

"I am impressed with most of our conservancies in Zambezi; they are really doing a good job to improve the livelihood of people within their jurisdiction. We have heard and we have seen, even though we have learnt a lot from our neighbouring countries' CBOs, whereby we have seen that they have a lot of ways in which they make money, and we have learnt, so we will try to implement and see."